Bill Salier
To contact his campaign:
Bill Salier U.S. Senate Committee
P.O. Box 109
Mason City, Iowa 50402
(641)423-6577
Posted on 03/12/2002 11:00:56 AM PST by Stacy
Primary voters will make first decision A funny thing is happening on the way to the Republican primary June 4. Interestingly, U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske, a Des Moines physician, is squared off against little-known Bill Salier, a farmer near Mason City and former Marine, for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Whoever wins the race will face incumbent Sen. Tom Harkin in November. When Ganske first announced, and for a long time after, he squared off as if he were running now against Harkin. But he's now begun paying attention to Salier. Considering that Ganske has tons of money for his campaign and Salier has little, conventional wisdom would indicate Ganske's got a lock on the nomination. It may not be true. Just last month, former Gov. Terry Branstad wrote a letter to Republicans urging their support of Ganske and specifically targeting Salier and some of the things he's said. "It's bad enough when liberal Democrats engage in lies and slander about the Republican Party and its candidates. But when a Republican misrepresents the record of another Republican, it's a sad day for all Republicans," wrote Branstad. Branstad continued that he supports Ganske, who attends the same church he does in Des Moines. He talks about Ganske's record -- which he says differs from Harkin's in many respects. He also talks about Salier "going negative." Salier has been out campaigning hard since he entered the race. He has visited towns all across the state, taking his conservative message to people. He characterizes Ganske as "Harkin-lite" and says the real chance of beating Harkin will come from the right of the Republican Party, which is where he stands. A Sioux City Republican recently sent me a copy of an e-mail he sent to another Republican and he makes some great points. He notes that six years ago, the last time Harkin ran for re-election, the "country club Republicans" urged support of Jim Ross Lightfoot because "no-names" couldn't beat Harkin. Lightfoot, according to this Republican, ran one of the worst campaigns in history. We all know Lightfoot lost. Then four years ago, the same "country club Republicans" urged support of Lightfoot for the governorship, only to see another poorly run campaign. Lightfoot lost again. "You and others are telling people to be pragmatic and nominate Greg Ganske to face Tom Harkin. You fail to recognize the mistakes of the past and are poised to make these mistakes once again. The only problem this time is that Ganske, who first ran on conservative principles and has been moving leftward each election since, is no longer a conservative," wrote the Republican. He says Ganske will lose against Harkin, because the conservative base will stay home for the general election and hurt Republicans' chances up and down the lineup. "The reality is that you cannot defeat Tom Harkin with Harkin-lite or a neo-Harkin candidate, which is what Ganske offers the Republican Party. If you walk into a store and money is no object, do you buy a Rolex watch or a knockoff version of a Rolex? Well, if money is no object, you buy the real thing!" One of his best points in this e-mail is that the primary is exactly the time when voters should cast their ballots on the basis of their consciences, for the person they believe is the best candidate. He clearly thinks the best candidate is Salier and points out that if Salier wins the nomination, there will be plenty of money for him to mount a credible campaign. The people who will finally decide which Republicans win nominations this year are the voters who go to the polls in June -- and that's you. There are no doubt excellent reasons to vote for either Ganske or Salier. Which way will you decide? It may be too early to tell. Kate Thompson is The Sioux City Journal's political reporter. She is in Des Moines, covering the Iowa Legislature and can be reached at KateThompson@siouxcityjournal.com or by calling 515-282-4890.
Bill Salier
To contact his campaign:
Bill Salier U.S. Senate Committee
P.O. Box 109
Mason City, Iowa 50402
(641)423-6577
Must have been some pretty innocent things he said, cause you know they would've quoted him otherwise.
Hi Stacy,Bill Salier looks good at my first look-see. I need to learn more about him and his views. I've looked over his website and liked what I saw... especially, his comments about needing to fix the dreadful Income Tax System we're saddled with.
Does Salier have an Email address? I couldn't find one. I believe that he would really give a boost to his campaign if folks could contact him via Email... even if he couldn't do the answering himself and had someone (say, like you) to respond to Email contacts.
Without an Email contact, I believe it hurts/hinders Salier's campaign.
I'm a grassroots volunteer who supports H.R. 2525, The FairTax Act for tax reform.
Visit FairTax QUICK-TOUR! to learn more about this excellent tax reform plan.
Cliff Cofer - West Des Moines, Iowa
Email: cmcofer@mchsi.com
Bye, bye Income Tax (and IRS)... we won't miss ya' at all!
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